Obituary

Patricia Ann France passed away on Saturday, August 14th, 2021 in Charlottesville, Virginia. She was 69.

Born on July 31, 1952 in Washington D.C. to Jeanette (Fleig) and Robert Stokes, Pat was the third of four children. After graduating from high school, she reluctantly agreed—at the behest of her cousin, Sharon—to attend nursing school. Nursing would prove to be a natural fit; it was a vocation Pat embraced professionally and personally. In 1970, she married her childhood sweetheart, Kit. Seventeen years later, they welcomed their daughter, Lindsey. Kit and Pat were married for 50 years.

Pat was known for her kind and gentle spirit, deep love of family, fun-loving nature, and chocolate chip cookies. She was a profoundly generous and caring person. Throughout her life, she tended to the physical and emotional needs of countless family members, friends, co-workers, and strangers. She enjoyed most those living life’s bookends—children and the elderly—and had a singular knack for making them feel at ease and appreciated. Later in her life, her greatest joy was spending her days playing with her granddaughters, Ruby Day and Hazel June.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Lindsey A. and Jordan S. Leahy; grandchildren Ruby D. and Hazel J. Leahy; siblings Dorothea P. Keith (Bill), Robert F. Stokes, Jr. (Lori), and David C. Stokes, Sr. (Bonita); as well as nieces, nephews, and many members of her extended church family.